Net Worth: $750 Million

 

 

 

STATISTICS

Trade name	Longo’s
Type	Private
Industry	Retail supermarket
Founded	1956 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Founder	Tommy, Joe and Gus Longo
Headquarters	Vaughan, Ontario ,  Canada
Number of locations	36
Areas served	Southern Ontario
Key People	Anthony Longo (CEO)
Revenue	$1.1 billion CAD (2019)
Products	Bakery, dairy, delicatessen, frozen foods, general grocery, meat and poultry, produce, seafood, snacks, pharmacy (at six locations), flowers, Starbucks
Owner	Empire Company (51%) Longo family (49%)
Subsidiaries	Garden Foods
Number of employees	5,000+
Website	https://www.longos.com/

About Longo’s

Longo’s is a chain of retail supermarkets and grocery delivery service with an estimated net worth of $750 million. The company is known to control a significant market share serving Southern Ontario, Canada, and is now controlled by Sobeys parent company Empire Company in which owns a 51% stake in partnership with the founding Longo family who owns 49%. Its corporate office is located in Vaughan and operates locations mainly in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

Longo’s was founded in 1956 by Italian immigrant brothers Joe, Tommy, and Gus Longo, who immigrated to Canada in 1951 from Termini Imerese, Sicily. They established their first store at the intersection of Yonge Street and Castlefield Avenue in Toronto, with the name “Broadway Fruit Market”. This store was about 139 square metres (1,500 sq ft), and had eight family members working there at that time. In 1962, the Longo brothers opened their second store in 1962, on Woodbine Avenue, with name “Longo’s Fruit Markets”. The third store opened in 1982 at Dundas St. and Trafalgar Rd. in Oakville, as increased expansion continued. In 1998, Tommy’s son Anthony Longo became the president and CEO of Longo’s.

The Company grew to over 2000 employees at that time and now currently employees a total of more than 5000 employees or more.

On March 16, 2021, Empire Company, parent company of Sobeys, bought a 51% controlling stake in Longo’s and its Grocery Gateway e-commerce business (which was acquired by Longo’s in 2004) for $357 million. The deal, which closed in May 2021, included a clause allowing Sobeys’ share to increase in future years. The Longo’s stores and Grocery Gateway “will continue to be led by CEO Anthony Longo”. The plan was subject to review by the Competition Bureau.

In September 2021, the Grocery Gateway delivery service was folded under the Longo’s banner, with the transitional name “Longo’s delivered by Grocery Gateway”. The Longo’s delivery operation continues as a standalone business, but may collaborate with Sobeys’ own Voilà delivery brand. On June 9, 2022 Longo’s announced it would buy specialty grocery retailer company Garden Foods for an undisclosed amount. This will allow Longos to strengthen its branding in the specialty food retailer market and slowly own more of the market share in that sector as it is an intended vehicle Sobeys will use to grow the market by using Longo’s to do that.